Minstrels of No Great Renown

All the World a Stage

Session 1

Regdar skips the stealth check

26

NOV/10

The minstrels enter the Nentir vale from the west. Their theatrical talents have been requested by Xerex the proprietor of the Oakhall Theatre in the Dwarven city of Hammerfast. He had contacted his former studen the bard Tallulah and offered several hundred gold pieces for her her parties assistance in the upcommind Dragon Day festival. Passing along the king’s road they are stopped at the toll bridge in Fallcrest, a letter is waiting for them.

The letter revealed that their job has been canceled thanks to Xerex’s poorly thought reenactment of the troll-spear wars.

“So, we’re screwed?” – Tallulah

So the party, having travelled months to wind up empty handed needed to improvise. They planned to preform at the Nentir Inn that night and look for odd jobs around town. The Inn’s proprietor Erandil Zemoar offered them free lodging so long as he recieved a portion of the tips from the preformance and he stayed true to his word.

The party promoted their show with an impromptu preformance at the market square. A succesful feat combining the arcane, musical, athletic, and acrobatic. The arcane cacophany did bring the misguided wrath of the town’s resident wizard Nimozorman the Green.

The party then split up, with Loch and Regdar seeking equipment at the local smith’s and Pavlyn and Tallulah visiting the elderly mage in his tower.

At this point an oppurtunity presented itself. Both the local Smith Teldorathan and the wizard Nimozorman brought up the recent kobold raids to the west of the town. Nimozorman suspected some exterior force pushing the fearful humanoids into aggression, Teldorthan only wished to retrieve his precious cargo of Dragonhide from the raiders. Teldorthan is offering a cash reward to anyone who can return the item, and Nimozorman is prepared to wave the rather steep fee for entrance into his guild for any arcane hero willing to risk their life for the safety of Fallcrest.

“I would be honored to join the ranks of your organization” – Pavlyn
“It would be nice to have a student with, potential” – Nimozorman, ignoring his inept pupils feelings

With their business in town closing the minstrels reformed at the Nentir inn for a final preformance. Their presence in town was known by the local sovereign Lord Malekhay who further enticed the party to assist by offering a bounty on Kobold heads ten gold pieces for each skull they bring back with them.

Their preformance paid well enough for the party to rest and have a good meal before setting out toward Kobold Hall in the morning.

“Regdar doesn’t make sneak” – Regdar

“Ouch” – Regdar, moments later

The party stormed the kobold’s lair finding their hidden entrance and fighting their way into the makeshift fortress below the ruined manor. They slaughtered the guard drakes above, and defeated the front line of pikers and clever minions. With a bit of negotiation the parties sacrificed a single skull for their bounty by allowing a kobold guard to live and reveal the information the party was seeking.

The Hall was once home to several kobold tribes each with their own symbols, skin colors, and leaders. Not long ago the young white dragon Szarathax entered and decided to exalt the skull kicker clan to unify the kobolds. This was accomplished by eating all other leaders.

As the party delved further they were nearly defeated by an unusually powerful kobold with mastery over vermin and rats. Before the party struck the tiny creature down for good she surrendered. This kobold revealed herself as Skrilk; the wife of the quarter tooth chieftan eaten by the young dragon. She resented the skullkicker chieftan who in her opinion is much weaker than her late mate, a once notorious slybade.

The party proved themselves to be shrewd negotiators cautious of the kobold’s assitance and the extent of her loyalty. They gained her assistance, she revealed the location of the secret passage which led to the Dragon, disarmed the traps in the hall leading out of her cave, granted the Loch a powerful dagger belonging to her late husband, and deceiving the other reptiles long enough for the party to rest.

The party in return has spared Skrilk’s life and those of her tribe, they are distinguished by their reddish-brown scales.

“Wait, but will she keep robbing merchants?” – Tallulah realizing her natural diplomatic gifts still allow for oversights in negotiation

The party proceeded on their way towards Szarthax’s secret chamber, steeled in their resolve to end the young dragon’s influence on the vale.

Exiting the trap laden hall they witnessed the source of the Skull-kickers namesake a rather gruesome sport involving skulls coffins and a rope. The players stormed the game catching the kobolds off guard, however the insidious cowards retaliated with a surprise of their own, converting their expertise in this sport into a dangerous weapon against the party. The battle was trying with the kobolds and their pet drakes having every advantage of terrain and numbers against the heroes. However the party learned how to use the terrain to their advantage, using the skull and rope device to increase their mobility and forcing the creatures to suffer the perils of their own disgusting pit.

The party emerged victorious, but their greatest challenges lie ahead…